5spd. Similarity W201/W124

[350SL4spd]

Did Mercedes use the same 5spd stick in the 190E's as they did in the 300E's? In 86 you could get the 5spd in the 2.3, 2.6, 2.2D, and the 300E. Was it all the same unit?

-M-

[A. Rosich]

Most manuals 190s I have seen have the regular H-pattern with first gear on the top left, second gear under it, third upper right and so forth.

A 1988 300TE I drove a long time ago had the first gear alone on the lower left of the H-pattern, then second gear was upper left, third under it, fourth upper right and fifth under it.
M-B called this pattern the "sport pattern" and I beleive it became standard on 300Es from 1988 onwards.

My guess is that the transmissions had some similarities but because of the greater torque of the 3.0 liter engine it had some upgrades beside the gear selection location.

[JimSmith]

I have a 1988 300E with a 5-speed stick shift and the shift pattern is first is up and to the left, then second directly below, and so on, with 5th to the right and up. I also have a 1986 190E 2.3-16 with the "dog leg" sport pattern, while a buddy has a 1986 regular 190E with a 5-speed that has the same shift pattern as my 300E.

I have no idea if the units with the same shift patterns are interchangeable. That would require a part number check and I do not have part numbers handy. Good luck and I hope this helps a little. Jim

[deanyel]

All 124 sticks in the US were conventional shift patterns. 300SLs, 1990 to 1993 were dogleg patterns. A. Rosich - did you actually mean "1998" 300TE? or 1988? Either way I don't believe there ever was a US version 124 wagon with a stick.

The '86 and '88 transmissions were different. There was no Manual shipped to the US in '87.

My '88 has reverse to the left and back. First and second are the next gate over, third and fourth next over and finally fifth in the upper right corner.

In spite of the fact these transmissions have different patterns, I would expect that they would interchange between the two cars if the corresponding shifter were used.

Good luck,

[cornblatt]

I have a W201 190D, and it's transmission was replaced a few years ago. The replacement part has a 124 part number... (i.e. the replacement transmission must have been intended for some 300-series vehicle). This implies that the same transmission was used in the 190D-2.2 and at least one 300-series vehicle; whether or not the 300E and 190E 5-speeds are compatible is another question, but this at least shows that there was some compatibility in transmissions between the 124 and the 201.

Note that it's a 5-spd manual transmission in spite of the fact that the image linked below says "AUTO TRANS" in it.

[Duke2.6]

The first manual 190E 2.6 was '88. No six cylinder manuals were available in any body in '87.

As far as I know the manual transmissions used in six-cylinder 201s and 124s is the same.

The early four-cylinder 201 manual is different, but later versions may be the same as used on the six - not sure.

The five-speed used in the 16V models is different from all others as it is a direct drive five-speed (1:1 fifth gear).

Duke

[bobbyv]

Originally posted by Duke2.6
The five-speed used in the 16V models is different from all others as it is a direct drive five-speed (1:1 fifth gear).

and aren't the 16V manual boxes made by Getrag?

the dogleg "sport pattern" is an optimization for racing, where you use 1st gear only coming out of the pits, with 2-5 used most of the time along the race course.

But I would be really hesitant to hand the keys of these cars over to valet parkers ...

[Greg in Oz]

I am fairly sure the "overdrive" gear boxes were the same for the 201 and 124. The overdrive boxes were those with a conventional shift pattern with fifth to the right and forward. The box in the 16V 201 with the dogleg first were supplied by Getrag whereas I believe the standard box was an in-house effort by MB. There was an update though as suggested when Larry mentioned the different position for reverse. I once mentioned to an MB mechanic how I had heard that MB manual boxes were criticised and yet I find the 5-speed (overdrive) in my 190E 2.3 Sportline very pleasant to use. His comment, after seeing where reverse was in mine, was that because it is a '90 model it has the "late" gearbox. I'm pretty sure it has a 124 part number but there is the possibility that it was only used for the four cylinder 124s, with the sixes getting something stronger. We got no six cylinder 201s or 124s in Australia with manual gear boxes. Even in the fours manuals were rare.

[csnow]

The 1986 w124 had a 'conventional' shift pattern, with reverse in the lower right.